Bruin seniors keep UCLA in the race

Feb. 26, 2009

Updated Aug. 21, 2013 1:17 p.m.

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UCLA guard Josh Shipp (3) drives to the basket in front of Stanford guard Landry Fields (2) in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Stanford, Calif., Thursday, Feb. 26, 2009. PAUL SAKUMA, AP

UCLA guard Josh Shipp (3) smiles in the final seconds of UCLA's 76-71 win over Stanford in an NCAA college basketball game in Stanford, Calif., Thursday, Feb. 26, 2009. Shipp was game high scorer with 24 points. PAUL SAKUMA, AP

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Stanford guard Landry Fields, left, and UCLA guard Michael Roll (20) look for a rebound in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Stanford, Calif., Thursday, Feb. 26, 2009. PAUL SAKUMA, AP

UCLA forward Nikola Dragovic (41) shoots as he is covered by Stanford guard Jeremy Green (5) and guard Landry Fields, in back, in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Stanford, Calif., Thursday, Feb. 26, 2009. PAUL SAKUMA, AP

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UCLA guard Darren Collison (2) celebrates after scoring past Stanford in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Stanford, Calif., Thursday, Feb. 26, 2009. PAUL SAKUMA, AP

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Stanford head coach Johnny Dawkins looks on during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against UCLA in Stanford, Calif., Thursday, Feb. 26, 2009. UCLA defeated Stanford 76-71. PAUL SAKUMA, AP

UCLA guard Josh Shipp (3) drives to the basket in front of Stanford guard Landry Fields (2) in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Stanford, Calif., Thursday, Feb. 26, 2009. PAUL SAKUMA, AP

PALO ALTO - UCLA's window for March magic won't stay open forever, and nobody is working harder to keep it pried up than the Bruins' three seniors.

One of them, Josh Shipp had to miss a season with an injury a few years back, so he has soaked things up longer than any other Bruin. He's not about to let his fifth year go off the tracks quietly.

"It's his fifth year. He's a man out there," Coach Ben Howland said. "He's playing like a man out there."

A loss at Maples Pavilion would have sent the No. 22 Bruins freefalling from the top of the Pac-10 standings and marked a second straight loss to a conference bottom feeder.

Shipp said the wobbly state of the Bruins' season - three losses in the previous four games - has been in his mind lately. It's not that he hasn't been trying. Shipp is averaging 19 points per game in the Bruins' past four games.

"We know how important these games are, being seniors _ me especially," Shipp said. "I'm just trying to be as aggressive as I can and do whatever I can to help the team win."

Shipp's steadying hand and Alfred Aboya's tightrope walk in foul trouble helped fend off the upset and keep UCLA (21-7, 10-5 in the Pac-10) in contention for the Pac-10 title with three conference games left.

The Bruins fell behind Stanford (15-11, 4-11) by 14 points early in the game behind a barrage of long jump shots, but they gradually extended their defense and took advantage of some offensive mismatches.

Shipp missed only three of his 12 shots. Aboya was 6-for-9 and scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half, sometimes by simply outrunning his defender down the floor.

Aboya picked up his fourth foul with more than seven minutes remaining and had to play a more delicate style of defense than he normally adopts. He also showed surprising touch from the free throw line, making his final four to ice the game in the final seconds.

"I use the same routine and I'm confident that my shot's going to go in when I take it," said Aboya, who entered Thursday a 66-percent free throw shooter.

The Bruins talked earlier this week about how hard they planned to work on defense and rebounding. For a while Thursday, it looked like all they did was talk.

Stanford made its first seven shots from the field and first 10 of 11. It also sprinted out to a 14-point lead midway through the first half. At about that point, the Cardinal had six rebounds to UCLA's zero.

Howland said it appeared that Stanford's seniors were intent on trying to end their final seasons on a high note and played a bit beyond themselves. In that early run, Anthony Goods made a 3-pointer from about six feet beyond the arc.

That doesn't mean Howland wasn't getting a little worried.

"We had to play out even tighter on them," Howland said. "In our scouting report, we said, 'Anthony Goods has 25-foot range.' Well, he has 27-foot range at home."

UCLA began to figure out how to guard the Cardinal, something most Pac-10 teams seemed to have already grasped. After that torrid start, Stanford made 17 of its final 42 shots (40.4 percent) and was out-rebounded 29-19.

The Cardinal's final shot of the first half was a desperation 3-point heave by Drew Shiller that rattled around before going in.

With that, Stanford had a 38-37 halftime lead, but in the minutes before Shiller's shot the Bruins had staged a 25-9 run to wipe out Stanford's quick start. Shipp made five of his six shots and scored 14 points in the half.The victory sets up a crucial game at Cal Saturday. This year, the Bruins are 8-1 in the opener of Pac-10 weekends, but just 2-4 in the second game.

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